Despite a rocky start, Kalvin Phillips is determined to make his loan stint at West Ham United a success and turn around his poor start.
The England international left Manchester City at the end of January, hoping to move on from the previous eighteen months. During that time, he won five trophies but appeared in only six competitive matches.
Phillips has struggled throughout his time at the London Stadium, making errors that resulted in goals against AFC Bournemouth and Manchester United. This was followed by a dismissal for two bookable offences in Saturday's Premier League defeat at Nottingham Forest. Phillips will miss next week's home game against Brentford owing to a one-match ban, but he is eager to be ready to face Everton on the following Saturday and boost the Irons' European qualifying ambitions.
Phillips spoke after the game at the City Ground on Saturday:
Kalvin Phillips - "They say bad luck comes in threes, so let’s hope I’ve had mine and I can kick on now. I’ll be at it at the next game. It’s not fitness. Having said that, I’ve got a few days of training now, and I’m going to be working as hard as possible.
There are things you need to do on a football pitch. Okay, I was training with the best team in the world, but games get you sharper. You can train all you like, but you are never going to get match fit and match sharp unless you play games, are you?
So, that’s the reason I’m frustrated and gutted. I wanted this to be a fresh start, to get my head down and go for it. It’s not gone as I would have hoped. Everyone can see that. “But I know football. I’m experienced enough to know that if I get my head down, grit my teeth, and do the basics right, things will turn around. “It’s easy to say, but now I’ve got to do it.”
Phillips also mentioned he attempted to speak with referee Thomas Bramall after the game about his suspension, which resulted in two yellow cards for a shove on Nicolas Dominguez and a foul on Morgan Gibbs-White.
"I'm unhappy with myself for the first booking. He's got my shoulder, and I've tried to push him away; perhaps next time I should kick the ball at him to make my point: "I was frustrated and we were losing. But it's something I'll learn from.
"With the second, I've not made any contact with Morgan (Gibbs-White). He's jumped up, and that's fair enough, but honestly, I didn't make any contact.
"I waited outside the referee's room to speak with him for over half an hour, and he didn't come out. I'm not sure if he knew I was there or not. I didn't want to batter him; I just wanted to speak to him about it."
Following his early exit from the City Ground, Hammers manager David Moyes was also eager to defend him. Moyes said:
"The sending-off was a huge blow because the game was tight and we were always in it at 1-0."
"The minute we went down to ten men, it was going to make it twice as hard. I thought Kalvin played much better today, he did a lot of good things. I hadn't seen it coming. The crowd played a huge part in backing Nottingham Forest, as did the referee, and played a part as they always do here. In the first one, the boy's blocking him, and he pushes him away because he's trying to play the game quickly, as we're trying to get back in the game and win it. Nowadays, you get booked for standing in front of the ball, so he shouldn't have pushed him. I get that."
"The second one—I've only been told - I haven't seen it. But they are saying the two boots are very close, and they just come together. It looks like there was quite a meal made of it but that's the way it is."
Kalvin Phillips is clearly determined to succeed with West Ham and turn his disappointing start around. As Phillips begins this new chapter with West Ham, he continuously demonstrates his character and ambition, promising an uphill journey for both himself and the team. Phillips' commitment to improving and proving himself on the field will undoubtedly inspire his teammates and earn him the respect of fans. His resilience and work ethic will be key factors in his quest for success with West Ham.